Accumulation of soil organic C and N in planted forests fostered by tree species mixture

Yan Liu1, Pifeng Lei1,2, Wenhua Xiang1, Wende Yan1,2, and Xiaoyong Chen2,31Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, Hunan, China2National Engineering Laboratory for Applied Technology of Forestry
& Ecology in South China, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, Hunan, China3Division of Science, College of Arts and Sciences, Governors State University, University Park, Illinois 60484, USA

Abstract. With the increasing trend of converting monocultures into mixed forests, more and more studies have been carried out to investigate the admixing effects on tree growth and aboveground carbon storage. However, few studies have considered the impact of mixed forests on belowground carbon sequestration, particularly changes in soil carbon and nitrogen stocks as a forest grows. In this study, paired pure Pinus massoniana plantations, Cinnamomum camphora plantations and mixed Pinus massoniana–Cinnamomum camphora plantations at ages of 10, 24 and 45 years were selected to test whether the mixed plantations sequestrate more organic carbon (OC) and nitrogen (N) in soils and whether this admixing effect becomes more pronounced with stand ages. The results showed that tree species identification, composition and stand age significantly affected soil OC and N stocks. The soil OC and N stocks were the highest in mixed Pinus–Cinnamomum stands compared to those in counterpart monocultures with the same age in the whole soil profile or specific soil depth layers (0–10, 10–20 and 20–30 cm) for most cases, followed by Cinnamomum stands and Pinus stands with the lowest. These positive admixing effects were mostly nonadditive. Along the chronosequence, the soil OC stock peaked in the 24-year-old stand and was maintained as relatively stable thereafter. The admixing effects were also the highest at this stage. However, in the topsoil layer, the admixing effects increased with stand ages in terms of soil OC stocks. When comparing mixed Pinus–Cinnamomum plantations with corresponding monocultures within the same age, the soil N stock in mixed stands was 8.30, 11.17 and 31.45 % higher than the predicted mean value estimated from counterpart pure species plantations in 10-, 24- and 45-year-old stands, respectively. This suggests that these admixing effects were more pronounced along the chronosequence.

Here we investigate soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in pairwise mixed plantations and corresponding monocultures at different stand ages to assess the effects of admixture on soil carbon and nitrogen over time. Our results showed that the admixtures created age-dependent positive effects on carbon sequestration and soil nitrogen stock, indicating that the capacity of carbon sequestration and nitrogen retention in mixed forests was age related, as was the magnitude of admixing effects.